Means for adjustably supporting outlet boxes



NOV. 5, G CARLSQN 1,734,893

MEANS FOR ADJUSTABLY SUPPORTING OUTLET BOXES Filed 001;. 25, 1927 I y IF' gl. I k \5 u Inventor: George Carlson, by HLS Attorney.

. 50 in place.

Patented Nov. 5, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE CARLSON, OFANSONIA,'CONNECTICUT, ASSIGN OR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK MEANS FOR ADJ'IISTABLY SUPPORTING OUTLET BOXESApplication filed October 25, 1927.

The present invention relates to means for adjustably supporting outletboxes either on the ceiling or side wall of a building and has for. itsobject the provision or" an improved,

simple construction for the purpose.

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention,attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claimsappended thereto.

Inthe drawing, which is illustrative of my invention, Fig. 1 is a viewof an outlet box in section together with its supporting means; Fig. 2is a view of a fixture stud 1n position above the top plate of an outletbox;

1 Fig. 3 indicates the manner in which the stud is slipped into the wallof the box; Fig. 4 shows the stud in place in the box, the .view beingtaken at right angles to that of Fig.1, and Fig. 5 is a perspectiveVleW' 0t the stud. I

6 indicates the beams of a building, either for the ceiling or sidewall. Bridging the beams is a rectangular strap or metal bar 7 ofsuitable size to support the weight of the parts to be supportedthereby. The bar is fastened to the beams in any suitable mannor, as forexample by providing a number of holes therein through which extendnails or screws 8 Before the bar is secured in place the fixture stud 9is slipped over it from one end, the size of the opening in the head ofthe stud being slightly greater than the bar itself to permit of thisaction. 10 indicates a metal outlet box which may be I made in anysuitable manner, and has the usual knockouts 11 in the top and which areremovable to 1361111113 conductors to be led into the lamp fixture.carried by the stud. l 1 e e I The central openmg 12 in the top or thebox .40 is of such dia neter and the fixture stud 9 of such size thatwhen assembled the box rotary movement of the stud and box relatively toeach other as indicated in Fig. 3. If desired to assemble the stud andbox before mounting the former on the bar the simplest thing is to tiltthe stud and insert it When the stud is first mounted Serial No.228,651.

on the bar it is necessary to tilt the box to assemble the parts.

The stud has a head 13 in which is an opening 13 for the reception ofthe supporting bar. Below the opening is a pair of outwardly extendingmembers or cars 14 which rest on the top of the box. The ears are sopositioned on the stud that when assembled the bar is separated from thetops of the knockouts by an appreciable space. This per- 00 mits offreely adjusting the box angularly on the stud to bring the knockoutopenings into proper register with the conductors or wires leading tothe fixture. The stud is also provided with a second pair ofoutwardly-extending members 15 and 16 which to distinguish them from theothers may be termed lugs. The ears and lugs occupy different transverseplanes which are slightly spaced apart. When assembled the lugs areinside the box and the ears outside, one pair of said members extendingfrom the stud at right angles to the other pair. The vertical spacebetween one ofthe ears 14 and the lug 15 as shown in Fig. 2, isapproximately equal to the thickness of the top wall of the box. Thesecond and longer lug 16 carries a screw 17 by means of which the boxand stud are clamped together. The end of the screw is pointed so thatit will pierce any insulation on the box such as japan to ensuregrounding of the parts. The clamping action of the screw and associatedparts is best shown in Fig. i.

In order to permit of assembly of the stud and box, the former has arecess 18 in the side thereof directly above the lug 16. The recess isdeepest at the point directly over the lug 16 and gradually decreasestoward its ends as indicated by the line 19. In all the recess extendsapproximately half way around the stud. The point is that enough metaland no more should be cut away to permit the parts to be assembled. Thelower end of the shank portion of the stud is beveled at 20 andthedistance between the wall of the recess at the point of maximumdiameterand the beveled end of the stud'is slightly less than thediameter of the round opening 12 in the upper wall of the box. It isonly when l the parts are in the relative positions shown in Fig. 3 thatthey can be assembled. That is to say, the lug 16 is first inserted inthe box opening, then the parts are moved to the position shown wherethe wall of the recess rests on the edge of the box opening, after whichthe stud is rotated about the wall of the recess as a pivot until thestud assumes a vertical position.

In order to clamp the stud to the bar, a second operation is necessaryand one independent of that required to clamp the stud to the box. Tothis end the stud is bored and threaded centrally receive the screw21,.the head of the latter being accessible through the tubular lowerportions of the stud, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4. This doubleclamping action particularly advantagcous because it permits of eitherfastening the stud to the bar, and then mounting the box on the stud orassembling the stud and box and threading them on the bar as a unit andlater clamping the stud to the bar in any adjusted position. The centerscrew also permits of easily readjusting the box on the bar vithoutdisturbing the clamping arrangement of the stud and box. The wiresleading to the fixture to be supported by the lower and screw-threadedend of the stud enter through the top wall of the box and pass into thecutaway portion 22 of the stud and above the tubular member 23 which maybe taken as illustrative of any suitable form of fixture support.

The fact that once the stud is assembled in the box the parts cannot beseparated by a straight downward pull even though not clamping togetherby the screws is important in installing the same in buildings since itavoids all danger of the box dropping 03 on the stud during thesubsequent wiring operations.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a boxhaving a central opening, and knock-outs adjacent thereto, a fixturestud for supporting the box which has outwardly-extending members bothabove and below the top wall of the box, a bar receiving opening locatedabove the level of the tops of the knock-outs, and a cut-away screwthreaded shank to receive the circuit wires, the stud and members beingso dimensioned with respect to the opening that the parts can only beassembled by a relative diagonal and rotary motion of the stud and box,a centrally arranged screw at the upper end of the cut-away portion ofthe shank for clamping it to its support, and a second screw carried byone or the members which is below the top wall of the box for clampingthe box and stud.

2. In, a device of the character described, the combination of a boxhaving a central opening in its top wall with a fixture stud having athreaded lower end which has a cutaway portion for supporting it whichstud extends through said opening and has projecting members both aboveand below the wall the diameter of which is greater than said opening,the space between the members which are above and below the wall beingsubstantially equal to the thickness of the wall, said stud having arecess on one side, the distance between said recess and the lower endof the stud being less than the diameter of the opening whereby the studmay be inserted through the opening in the box by a relatively diagonaland rotary movement of the stud and box, a screw carried by one of themembers located below the wall which engages the under side of the wallfor clamping the stud and box, and a means independent of the screw toclamp the stud to its support.

3. A metal fixture stud for supporting an outlet box having an enlargedhead with a transverse opening to receive a supporting bar, a hollowscrew threaded shank which is cut away on one side to receive circuitwires, a pair of cars extending outwardly from the stud and adapted torest on the top wall of the box, a pair of lugs located below the ears,one of which is spaced therefrom by an amount approximately equal tothe-thickness of the box wall, a clamping screw carried by the other ofsaid lugs to clamp the stud and box, and a clamping screw located at thetop of the cut-away portion which extends axially of the stud to clampthe stud to its supporting bar.

4. A fixture stud for supporting an outlet box having a cut-away screwthreaded portion to receive the circuit wires, an enlarged head with atransverse opening to receive a supporting bar, pairs ofradially-extending members located in different transverse planes, themembers of one pair extending at right angles to those of the otherpair, the members of one pair being adapted to enthe upper side of thewall of a conduit box and one of the members of the second pair with theunderside of said wall, a clamping screw carried by the other member ofthe second pair to clamp the stud to a box, and a central screw adaptedto clamp the stud to its supporting bar.

In witness whereof, I have heretoset my hand this twenty-second day ofOctober,

GEORGE CARLSON.

